Author: John Sturbin

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin led Friday’s opening practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on a WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca layout that has lost seat-of-the-pants grip since a repave in 2023. A number of NTT IndyCar Series regulars either spun or ventured off-track while working to adjust to the track’s lower grip levels compared to last year, when fresh asphalt offered more traction. McLaughlin emerged as quickest via a lap at 1-minute, 7.6325-seconds/119.126 mph in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet on the undulating, 2.238-mile/11-turn circuit that includes the famous…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Ferrari and its faithful, red-clad “tifosi” celebrated a second consecutive victory Sunday in the world’s greatest automobile endurance race _ the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans _ following a closing laps battle with Toyota Gazoo Racing. Running low on fuel on a wet racetrack, Nicklas Nielsen of Denmark crossed the finish line first in the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar shared with Antonio Fuoco of Italy and Miguel Molina of Spain in the twice-around-the clock French classic. The winning Ferrari covered 311 laps around the 8.47-mile/13.629-kilometers Circuit De La…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Paced by an all-American front row, the world’s greatest sports car endurance race is underway in France. The pole-sitting No. 6 Porsche 963 Hypercar entered by Penske Motorsport and the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R fielded by Cadillac Racing took the green flag Saturday morning for the flying start of the 92nd annual 24 Hours of Le Mans. A field of 62 cars in three classes is competing at full-song in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s twice-around-the-clock marathon. Frenchman Kevin Estre wheeled Penske’s No. 6 Porsche 963 to P1 during Thursday’s 30-minute Hyperpole session…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR is moving to FOX Sports in 2025 with a 17-race schedule that, for the second consecutive season, does not include Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. FOX Sports is poised to become the exclusive home of the NTT IndyCar Series, including the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. As announced Thursday, the new media rights deal will provide an unprecedented increase in exposure for North America’s premier open-wheel series, with every 2025 race airing on FOX and available on the FOX Sports app. Additionally, FOX Deportes will carry exclusive…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR will launch its long-awaited Hybrid Era at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next month with a trio of familiar names squarely atop the speed chart during testing. Two days after sweeping the podium at Road America, Team Penske’s Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin emerged as the three fastest drivers, respectively, in an NTT IndyCar Series Open Test at The Milwaukee Mile. INDYCAR, Chevrolet and Honda have collaborated to develop the series’ first-of-its-kind hybrid unit. Both manufacturer’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines initially were paired and tested with hybrid power on Aug. 16,…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske ace Will Power says he and wife Liz have been through “a rough trot” _ Aussie-speak for an 18-month journey that took the family from a hospital emergency room in North Carolina to Victory Lane in Wisconsin. Power posted his first NTT IndyCar Series win since June 2022 in Detroit _ a drought of 34 races _ to lead a Team Penske podium sweep during Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR. Power had won at least one race for 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-2022 before going winless…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio NTT IndyCar Series rookie Linus Lundqvist says qualifying in wet/dry conditions on a road-course re-defines the meaning of risk vs. reward. “Yeah, I mean, it’s so difficult because you still have to be committed,” Lundqvist said after a frantic, damp qualifying session Saturday afternoon at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. “To be fast as well, you’re going to have to approach it almost like a dry lap or a dry session.” That mindset carried Lundqvist to a trio of “firsts” en route to the NTT P1 Award for today’s XPEL Grand Prix…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou continued his mastery of INDYCAR’s longest-and-winding road-course Friday, pacing opening practice for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR. A two-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion, Palou covered the 4.104-mile/14-turn layout in 1-minute, 43.1709-seconds/140.063 mph during a 75-minute session. Palou was the only driver in the 27-car field to crack the 140 mph barrier. Recall the Spaniard previously won on the permanent, natural-terrain layout in Elkhart Lake, Wis., en route to his series championships in 2021 and 2023. “It’s a really great start so far,” said Palou, driver of…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Indianapolis 500 champion Parnelli Jones, whose victory in 1963 occurred amid an era of open-wheel innovation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 in Torrance, Calif. Mr. Jones was 90. The first driver to qualify for the Indy 500 faster than 150 mph in 1962, Jones won the 47th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” from pole position on Thursday, May 30, 1963. The versatile Jones competed against the best domestic drivers of his era, as well as a handful of…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Chip Ganassi Racing ace Scott Dixon and race strategist Mike Hull schooled the field during Sunday’s caution-marred Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, as corporate rival Honda played party spoiler in General Motors’ hometown and “Dixie” assumed the championship point lead. A six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Dixon collaborated with Hull on another master class in the art of saving fuel at-speed. Dixon outlasted fellow-Honda driver Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global by 0.8567-seconds after 100 laps around the tight-and-bumpy 1.645-mile/nine-turn temporary circuit in Downtown Motown. “Yeah, I think for us as a team, we just…